


Home is Where the Ring Is

by zombiesbecrazy



Category: DCU (Comics), Green Lantern (Comics), Superman - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Green Lantern of 2813, Looking after an endangered species, No editing we die like mne, i have no idea how to tag this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-26
Updated: 2019-03-26
Packaged: 2019-12-07 21:42:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18240539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zombiesbecrazy/pseuds/zombiesbecrazy
Summary: The Green Lanterns of 2813 have two jobs that they take very seriously - serve their sector admirably and protect their most treasured and endangered citizens with honor and valor.





	Home is Where the Ring Is

**Author's Note:**

> Once upon a time I read a fic (that I can't remember the title of) about how the Green Lantern Corps was very protective of Kryptonians because they were considered an endangered species. This weird cracky fluff spun out of that and me wondering who would be responsible for looking after them if that were the case.

It was silly, feeling homesick like some sort of child.

In the grand scheme of the universe Farthlé was not that far from home, not really, especially when you were able to travel quickly through space whenever you wanted with the help of a glowing green ring. Fylip was only one sector over, but he was three months into his six month rotation and all he really wanted right now was his mom’s homemade lufdenheim for dinner. He didn’t even like her cooking when he was home, because it was positively dreadful and left a heavy feeling like rocks in his stomach, but he missed it none the less.

Searching through his kitchen he tried to figure out if he had the right ingredients for chicken tetrazzini, one of his Earth favourites, or if he’d have to make a trip to the store to satisfy that particular craving. He had really grown to like the food here. There wasn’t pasta back home. Or cheese.  So many different types of cheese. On most days, the cheese alone was worth the station.

It was lonely sometimes. Being an alien on a strange world. Being without his friends and family. Being a Lantern in the wrong sector. Sure, 2814’s Lanterns always invited him when they got together on Earth, it wasn’t the same as hanging out with Somar-Le back in 2813.

His sworn duty was worth it, but he was having a hard time remembering that today.

The destruction of Krypton was a sad mark in history for the Green Lanterns of 2813. The defenders at the time had arrived too late to help and were only able to watch the devastation from a distance as it had been decimated. An entire planet gone; a catastrophic extinction right before their eyes. It wasn’t the first time that it had happened, nor would it be the last, but the sector’s Lanterns mourned it as if it were their own world. They had lost one of their charges.

Until one day they discovered that the Kryptonians were not extinct, only endangered and there was one on Earth. And then another. And then it was a full family pod of there, as well as the bottled city of Kandor. They were small, yes, but they were still Kryptonians contained safely in the glass walls.

The species they had thought were lost had survived and 2813 would not fail them again. Never again. They had a new mission to uphold.

Since that day, one of the Lanterns from 2813 always stood guard over the Kryptonians of Earth, ensuring that they were safe and protected from harm. The Guardians had tried to tell them that it wasn’t necessary, that this mission was above and beyond their call of duty, as had the Green Lanterns of 2814, who all called Earth home and said that they include the Kryptonians in their protection, but the 2813 Lanterns declined. Arrangements had to be made because of this, and once it was realised that the 2813’s mission was permanent. With the Guardians, they decided that if a solo Kryptonian appeared another sector, it was the duty of the Lanterns of that sector to protect them. The Earth pod was the largest settlement in the universe and if it was 2813’s sworn oath to look after them, it was their responsibility even though they were residing in 2814’s jurisdiction. For the most part, Farthlé and Somar-Le stayed out of 2814’s business unless one of Earth’s Lantern’s asked them to assist, and likewise they left the Kryptonians well being to them, unless one left the pod to go off planet. General rule was then that Farthlé stayed with the pod and the travelling family member was then the responsibility of the sector they were in. Kal El was pretty good at texting before going off world so they were alerted to the situation. He was fortunate to be close enough to his sector that he could assist if needed, and in that case he alerted Hal or John that he needed to be away and they cared for his Kryptonians.

There were a lot of rules and contingencies in place for a very small collection of people, but it was worth it and it usually worked out well for everyone.

It was strange to be looking after essentially four people instead of an entire sector of space, crisscrossing between insanely easier and infinitely more complicated all at the same time.

Farthlé and Somar-Le had decided that they would split the duties of who would spend their time on Earth with their most precious charges, rotating every six months, while living in an apartment they shared in Metropolis. It was only fair to split both the burden and the honour of this revered task. It was a sacred and noble act and one that he was proud to follow the tradition of, even if the Kryptonians poked fun at them for it.  They kept insisting that they didn’t need a special guard detail, but it wasn’t really up to them to make that call. The rings of 2813 taught them the importance of the as soon as it attached to their fingers for the first time. It was part of their history almost as much as it was the Kryptonians.

Sector 2813 will always take care of its own.

Over the years, Farthlé had taken to treating the pod in the same way as most Earth family units seemed to when they did not live together, keeping most of his tabs on them with their telecommunication devices. Noting that he didn’t have any chicken for the meal he had hoped to make, he closed the fridge and decided to make his standard rounds, pulling out his phone and texting the same group he did every night.

_Farthl_ _é:_ _Daily check in. Everyone still alive?_

Dots appeared on the screen as he waited for a response. Probably Kara. She was always the first. He wasn’t overly concerned today. It had been a slow news day in general on the planet so he had no reason to think that anything had happened to any of his charges. He had done a fly over in the morning to peek in on all of them and they were all fine, but he still needed the reassurance that he hadn’t missed anything as they lived their regular lives. He found it fascinating, the way they had seamlessly assimilated. Despite the responsibility of the duty, for the most part he stayed uninvolved. The last time he had to step in was because of Zod and ended with banishing him to the Phantom Zone. At least he knew where that Kryptonian was tonight.

_Kara Zor-El: I’m alright. I broke a heel._

Farthlé sucked in a breath and transformed into his uniformed appearance, green glow filling the room. How had Kara injured herself in such a fashion? Kryptonite, surely, but he needed more… wait. She had indicated that she was fine. He tried to calm himself, resisting the urge to open the window and fly towards her location without more information.

_Farthl_ _é_ _: How?_

_Kara Zor-El: It got stuck in a grate when I was running to catch the subway._

Farthlé gritted his teeth and powered down before taking a few deep and steadying breaths. She was going to be the death of him some day, he just knew it.

_Farthlé: You mean you broke the heel of your shoe._

_Kara Zor-El: Oh, yeah. Sorry. Stop panicking. I can hear your heartbeat from here. Though if you want to buy me some new ones, that would be sweet._

_Farthl_ _é_ _: The Corps are not buying you new shoes._

_Kara Zor-El: But I need them. I’m a poor orphan without shoes. Help me, Green Lantern._

_Farthl_ _é_ _: No._

He knew that would be the end of the conversation with Kara. She wasn’t one for chit chat with him over text but she did like to meet up in person from time to time to chat about their home sector. Farthé had never been to Krypton, but she had been to Fylip as a child as well as some of the other planets and he was really the only person she could talk to about it. It was nice, the connection that the two of them shared from home. She often made him feel less homesick when he was feeling down, but he didn’t like to intrude. He was mainly an observer and didn’t want to disrupt the life that she had built for herself on Earth.

_Jon Kent: I’m good, but my dad isn’t home yet. How are you today? I miss you!_

Farthlé smiled at young Jonathan’s words. He had recently got a phone of his own, and as far as Farthlé knew, the only numbers stored in it were for his family, Robin from Gotham and himself. Jonathan had called him his fairy godfather last time he had seen him. It must rather seem that way to a child.

_Farthl_ _é_ _: I’m very well. Thank you for asking._

_Jon Kent: Can you do my math homework?_

_Farthl_ _é_ _: You must learn math, Jonathan. It is important on all planets._

_Jon Kent: But there's just so much…_

_Farthl_ _é_ _: Even if I were able to help you in that way, I could only do half because you are only half Kryptonian._

_Jon Kent: Does that mean that if I were dying, you would only half save me?_

_Farthl_ _é_ _: Well, no. I am still not doing your homework._

_Jon Kent: Fine, but I’m telling my teacher that a Fylipian Lantern ate my homework._

_Farthl_ _é_ _: You are welcome to try to use that as an excuse however I don’t believe it will work._

There were a few minutes of silence from his phone, hopefully meaning that Jonathan had returned to his studies. There were still two more to hear in from. The general rule of thumb was that if he didn’t hear back from them within thirty minutes that he was to start to investigate.

A new bubble popped up.

_Kon El: The other person you are only going to half save is also alive and well and thriving. Krypto and I are chilling._

_Farthl_ _é_ _: Very good. Give Krypto a pet for me. He is a good dog._

_Kon El: Will do. Question – do you save me to a level less than or equal to Jon? As a clone-hybrid am I only like… 25% saveable?_

Farthlé sighed. Were all Kryptonians this insufferable? He shook his head when he realised that about 90% of all Kryptonians alive in the universe were in this group chat, so it was rather easy to infer that, yes, all Kryptonians were like this.

_Farthl_ _é_ _: I will save anyone with Kryptonian DNA with equal measure, regardless of the percentage._

_Kon El: My hero! My future 12.5% Kryptonian children are so lucky!_

Another twenty minutes passed and Farthlé started to wonder if he was going to have to contact one of 2814’s Lanterns. He knew that Kal El was off world on a Justice League mission, but he had been due to arrive back earlier in the day. He had not heard of any delay in their return but it was known to happen. If something had gone wrong, he would have been contacted. He was tapping out a message to Hal Jordan that he wasn’t entirely sure if he was going to send or not, because Hal would just accuse him of being a mother hen when a notification came through.

_Kal El: Jon, ask Mom for help with the math. Conner, you are just as Kryptonian as any of the rest of us. Kara, you are an adult with a job, buy your own darn shoes. Farthl_ _é,_ _I arrived safe and sound on the Watchtower and am heading home soon. I’m fine. Kyle took very good care of me. Sorry that I forgot to check in earlier. My phone was dead._

Tension released from Farthlé’s body as he read the words. He knew that it was hypocritical, but he didn’t like it when one of his charges left the planet. There was a sense of safety when they were on home. Everywhere else for them just felt so… alien. He laughed at his own foolishness as he typed back.

_Farthl_ _é_ _: You are not a house plant that I asked Kyle Rayner to water, Kal El._

_Kal El: Then why do you never ask Guy to follow me when I go off planet?_

_Farthl_ _é_ _: No comment. Thank you for letting me know you are home once again._

Seconds later, Farthlé’s phone was ringing. It was not an unexpected call.

“Do you have dinner plans tonight? We’re having lasagna if you want to join us. I’m going to call Conner and Kara too. Big family meal sound good?” Kal El sounded good. Happy. The mission must have gone well.

It wasn’t uncommon for Kal El to invite him to dinner and it was a usual occurrence when he returned from off world missions. It was like he knew that Farthlé was practically itching to see him in the flesh and ensure that their longest charge was all in one piece, just has he had been when he left Earth days before. He was trying to make his job easier. While his insistent Lantern guardians amused him, Kal El always did his best to include them into his life and tried to make them feel welcome on Earth. He knew what it was like to feel like a stranger in a crowd. Farthlé was lucky, being able to blend in with the humans and Kryptonians and that it was much harder for Somar-Le to venture out in public without a concealment charm disguising his avian like visage, but he was still an outsider no matter how much time he spent on Earth.

The dinner invitation sounded like it always did. Perfect. It wasn’t home or his mom’s food, but it was the next best thing when it felt like he was a galaxy, and not just a sector, away.

“I would love to. Thank you for the invitation.”

After all, it was easier to keep an eye on all the Kryptonians if they were there together. Dinner together made strategic sense.

The pasta and cheese combination was just an added bonus.


End file.
